student wellness |

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”

Ernest Hemingway

Here we are, at the start of a new school year. Our teachers have been hard at work planning this year’s journey, much like parents planned the wonderful family holidays we’ve heard about since our students’ return. In the same way that our students will soon be goal-setting for the term, here are the school-wide areas of focus, the ends if you will, that our teachers are working toward:

Living the Mission, with the Habits of Mind, Body and Action; Project-Based Learning; service learning; student leadership; Learning for the Love of It; and more that support the development of lifelong learners, that I look forward to sharing as the year unfolds
Student Wellness, following up on feedback from students in our Student Voice; faculty and staff-wide professional development (PD) on mental health first aid and faculty PD on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; a review of our Social-Emotional Learning practices; and full launch of our concussion protocol
Technology, with more 1:1 and 1:2 access from grades 3 and up, and increased access to iPads in grades JK to grade 2
Assessment, with the development of a new report card for next school year and the exploration of other new tools to help capture and share the story of our students’ growth
Writing, with the pilot of new tools in multiple grades
Social Studies and French, to align with the new Ministry curriculum in these subjects

Some of our areas of focus are ongoing from previous years. Others are at the start of a multi-year focus.

Much like a good journey, you can’t plan for everything. Surprises likely lurk, as do bumps in the road that will need to be worked around. Ongoing collaboration, flexible and creative thinking, persistence and responsible risks will carry us forward. At KCS, that’s what happens on the journey, and that’s what matters in the end.

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics
You can follow Andrea on Twitter @afanjoy.

“Can we get more bugs in the playground?” – JK student

About five years ago KCS introduced a way to invite all students into strategic faculty conversations. Taking place usually once a year, a significant area of focus for the school is chosen and feedback is sought from faculty, staff and all students on that topic, with particular attention on how KCS can improve. In the past, topics discussed in every class have included homework, extra-curriculars, the House System and student leadership. This year’s topic is wellness in all its forms: physical, social, emotional, mental and intellectual. In addition to what comes out of class discussions, Student Voice includes a focus group for interested students in grades 6 to 8 who want to discuss the topic in more detail with senior administrators and teachers.

This year’s discussions focused on four questions:

What are the signs of health/wellness at KCS?
What are signs of ill health/unwellness at KCS?
What does KCS do to promote wellness?
What could KCS do to better promote wellness?

Our students had 23 pages worth of things to say. The results of Student Voice have now been shared with all staff and students in grades 6 to 8 and will be used to inform leadership efforts at KCS among faculty and students.

Our youngest students are still three years old. When asked about what they do to make others feel good, answers included cuddling, sharing and “rubbing their friend’s back if they’re unhappy”. Empathy and wellness go hand-in-hand.

Collectively, the students could describe wellness in great detail. They know that eating and sleeping well, getting along, dealing well with conflict and embracing learning are part of being well. But life doesn’t always work that way and they were equally able to describe what it means to be unwell at KCS, and shared examples such as not getting along with others, times when others weren’t kind or respectful, times when they ate unhealthy food and stress around homework and exams.

The students appreciate the many things KCS does to promote wellness, identifying caring teachers, time to be active, ‘I Messages’, class meetings, special events, having fun, effective teaching, the Habits and dozens of other efforts that make a positive difference.

What can we do better? These ideas were interesting and will lead to numerous discussions among faculty and senior students. Some are too tricky to act on anytime soon: a turfed field, a roof patio, a swimming pool and a cafeteria among others. But many can and surely will be done. We actually have a plan in place to get more bugs in the playground – we look forward to announcing that one. It was nice to see that our grade 8s would like more and earlier opportunities to play with their grade 1 and 2 buddies. The students had interesting ideas for changes in the timetable. One idea was to have a shorter day, while another was to have a longer day! A number suggested vending machines with healthy food. The bathrooms and water fountains also got special mention, as did more time outside.

Twenty-three pages is a testament to how much students have to say. We’re listening, and we look forward to working with student leaders to bring more wellness to KCS, bugs and all.

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics
You can follow Andrea on Twitter @afanjoy.